Hi all!
I hope this post finds you well! The University of Virginia is in the planning stages for our new performing arts center, and I need help! We are beginning the meetings discussing box office, front of house, etc., and I need to crowd source some ideas. What do you like about your box office space? What do you not like? If you could picture your perfect working space, what would it include? What does your staffing look like? What equipment do you use? To give you an idea, the box office would be supporting:
-A new larger performing hall-A new smaller performing hall-Our current Drama Department (three theatres in the drama building which will continue with our current box office space)-Our current historical music venue (846 seats with a mobile box office)-Additional venues during the film festival (an additional two venues with a separate seasonal box office)
Thank you all in advance for your help and ideas! I have never built a box office from the ground up and want to make sure I am covering all my bases. I figured you all would be the best people to ask!
Best,
Olivia A.
How fun!I got to help plan out a box office renovation and I'll second printer access. We put ours on sliding shelves so you could pull the printer out to restock. A+. We also considered how often we needed to move desks for events. We put them on quality casters, made them in sections that fit comfortably in the passenger elevator, and got custom-made covers to protect them when we moved them around. I always prefer more full-time vs part time staff. Morally and because the continuity of knowledge when someone is there 5-day/week is muuuuch better, but I'm guessing as a university you probably will lean more toward part-time staffing for students.I also recommend a phone system that allows for remote-work (desktop-based). We use Ring Central (and have a cool tessitura integration I can always share more about) which allows for much more flexibility for call center/box office agents, especially if you have high-volume days when you need all hands on deck, or when you want the box office to stay open during bad weather/pandemics. :)